Curtain-fixture.



N0. 826,284. PATENTED JULY 17, 1906. I. W. SMITH & J. B. HAYWARD.CURTAIN FIXTURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29.1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

IRWIN W SMITH AND JONATHAN B. HAYWARD, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

CURTAIN-FIXTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 17, 1906.

To all whom may concern/.-

Be it known that we, IRWIN W. SMITH and JONATHAN B. HAYWARD, citizens ofthe United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery andState of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCurtain-Fixtures, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in curtain-fixtures, and hasamong its objects to provide such an improved form of device forsuchfixtures as will permit the curtain carried upon its springwinding-roller to be adjusted so as automatically to become latched inany desired position and at the same time associated with thislatch-adjusting device a mechanismwhich will immediately check thecurtain when it runs away under its spring tension, at which time theselatching devices ordinarily become ineffective, and also to providesuitable adjusting means for regulating the quickness with which thischecking device takes effect; also, to construct the entire mechanismwhich performs these various functions in a form which shall be compactand shall be economical and easy to manufacture and assemble.

With these and incidental objects in view the invention consists incertain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, theessential elements of which are set forth in appended claims, and apreferred form of embodiment of which is hereinafter specificallydescribed with reference to the drawings which accompany and form partof this specification. Of said drawings, Figure 1 represents a frontview of the curtain-roller to which these improvements are attached,said ourtain-roller being broken away in parts to re' veal the internalconstruction thereof. Figs. 2 and 3 represent end views of thecurtainroller, showing the pawl-carrying head and various latchingmechanisms. Fig. 4 represents a section parallel to the head and takenon a line 4 4 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 represents a perspective view of theinternal spindle and the sprin connected to the head. Referring to saidc rawings, it will be seen that the curtain-roller 10 is of the ordinaryand well-known cylindrical form having an interna boring 11 to receivean internal spindle 12, around which is coiled a curtainwinding spring13, which spring at its inner end is fastened into a slot 1n the spindle12 and at its outermost end is made fast to a lu 14, which projectsinwardly into the curtainroller from the head 15, which is made fast tothe curtain-roller.

The head 15 is formed with an aperture through which the spindle 12 mayextend, and this spindle is capped with three parts comprising afour-toothed ratchet-wheel 20, (shown best in Fig. 4,) on top of whichis a latching-disk 21, (shown in Figs. 2 and 3,) and on top of whichlatching-disk 21 is the ordinary flattened spur 22, which is of theusual form in curtains for being inserted into a correspondingly-slottedsocket form ing a bracket for the roller, the other end of the rollerhaving the pin l6projecting therefrom to serve as a bearing for theother end of the curtain-roller. This spur 22, latching-disk 21, andratchet-wheel 20 are all fast together as in one piece, and being allfast to the spindle 12 of course all remain stationary when thecurtain-roller is put into its brackets, so that when the curtain ispulled down the rotation of the curtainhead 15 with the curtain-rollerputs the spring 13 under tension, so as to tend to rewind the curtain upagain in a well-known manner.

Pivoted upon the head 15 and lyin adj acent to said head is a check-pawl30, shown best in Fig. 4,) the pivotal point 31 of this pawl beingapproximately the middle thereof, and this pawl is formed with curvedarms ending in a head 32 and a tail 33, these arms circumscribinsomewhat more than half of the ratchet-w eel 20. Pivoted at the samepoint 31 and mounted adjacent to the aforesaid check-pawl 30 is anordinary form of latching-pawl 34, having a nose 35, which engagesrecesses 36,formed in the aforesaid latching-disk 21. This latching-pawl34 is a gravity-pawl and intended to operate in a wellknown manner toengage the recesses 36 when the pawl is brought around to its upperposition in the course of the rotation of the curtain-roller, so as tothereby latch the curtain-roller from further movement by engagementwith this stationary spindle 12. Of course it will be understood thatthe pawls 30 and 34 are carried upon and revolve with thecurtain-roller, and the pawl 30 is in lateral alinement with itscorresponding ratchet-wheel 20, while the pawl 34 is in lat- 'eralalinement with its corresponding latching-disk 21, and the purpose ofthe pawl 34 ITO is simply to latch the curtain-roller in its adjustedposition as soon as the pawl 34 has been brought to its upper positionin the course of rotation of the roller, at which time it will drop downinto engagement with its latching-disk 21' in a manner well known in theart.

The purpose of the check-pawl 30 will now be described. If by reason ofrapid rotation of the curtain-roller under its spring tension the pawl34 should fly around too rapidly to permit the same to drop into one ofthe recesses 36 to latch the roller, as-very often occurs when byinadvertence the curtain is lost hold of and runs away from the grasp ofthe operator, the check-pawl 30 and ratchet 2O become operativeimmediately to check the curtain and stop the same automatically. Therelative positions of the aforesaid head 32 and tail 33 of the pawl 30are such that under ordinary movements of rotation of the curtain in thedirection of the arrow shown in Fig. 4:, (which is the direction ofrotation when the spring is acting to wind up the curtain,) the teeth ofthe ratchetwheel 20 will successively engage-the tail 33 of the pawl 30and in so doing will rock the tail 33 outward, and thereby carry thehead 32 inward, so that the nose thereof will be in the path of thedia-' metrically opposite tooth; but if the movement of rotation of thepawl 30 is slow the tail 33 will drop back again on the other side ofits tooth in time to permit the head 32 to be withdrawn out of the pathof the oncoming tooth on its side. A spring 40, attached to the head at41 and bearing upon the tail 33, tends to keep the tail 33 inward andthe pawl 32 outward, so as to maintain the head of the pawl 32 fromengagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel 30; but if the speed ofrotation of the curtain-roller is very fast the oncoming tail 33 willstrike the sta tionary tooth of the ratchet-wheel with such force thatthe tail 33 will be carried outward against its spring tension and thespring tension will not be sufficient to carry the tail back againbefore the tooth on the opposite side has reached engagement with thehead 32, and thereby the curtain-rollerwill be immediately automaticallylocked by this checkpawl, this locking position being shown in Fig. 3.It will thus be seen that this checkpawl serves to automatically checkthe curtain-roller in its running-away movement, and the curtain-rollercan of course be immediately released therefrom by the ordinary movementof pulling down upon the curtain, which of course rotates the pawls inthe other direction, so that the pawl rides freely over itsratchet-wheel 20, and then the curtain may be adjusted at any otherdesired point by the aid of the ordinary latch-pawl 34.

ince the tension of the spring is what governs the inward return of thetail 33 after it is carried downward by the force of the blow struck bythe teeth of the disk 20, the adjustment of this spring to increase itstension will cause a more rapid return of the check-pawl 30 to its nOnengaging position, and thus the curtain would run to a further extentand require more momentum before it is checked in the manner abovedescribed. This tension is adjusted by means of a disk 50, pivotedeccentrically about the screw 51, so that by releasing the screw androtating the disk by hand slightly the tension of the spring 40 may beincreased or decreased, as desired, and, as above stated, if the tensionis increased the speed at which the curtain-roller may run before thesame will be checked may be greater, whereas if the tension is decreasedthe speed at which the curtain may run before being checked isdecreased. Thus if it is desired to have the adjustment such that thecurtain may be given a fairly rapid lifting movement to bring the sameto the desired position before the ordinary gravity or latching pawl 31is permitted to take effect this may be done by increasing the tensionof the spring 40 in the manner described, and the checking willnevertheless immediately take place when the curtain runs away, and thisspeed of rotation is increased during such running-away movement, and ifthis checking is not as quick as may be desired the tension on thespring 40 may be decreased, in which place the checking will take placeunder a lower speed of rotation of the curtain, which would of coursealso effect somewhat the speed with which the curtain may be raised byhand; but this leaves the entire adjustment of these devices whollywithin control, so that the checking effect will take place uponwhatever speed of rotation may be desired.

From the above description of the operation of these devices it will beobserved that the latching-pawl 34 is normally active to latch thecurtain-roller in any desired set position and will take effect when acertain speed of rotation of the roller is maintained, whereas thechecking-pawl 30 is normally in active, but becomes active immediatelyto check the roller when an abnormal speed of rotation has developed andthe said latchingawl has thereby become inactive, and the adjustabledevice for adjusting the tension of -the spring 40 controls the checkingeffectiveness of the pawl 30 relatively to the speed of rotation of theroller, these various parts be ing constructed with a view to insuringthe greatest possible economy, simplicity, and efficiency for producingthe results desired.

While the form of mechanism here shown and described is admirablyadapted to fulfil the objects primarily stated, it is to be understoodthat it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form ofembodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment invarious forms, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

Having thus described we claim as new, ters Patent, is

1. In a curtain fixture the combination with the spring-actuated roller,of means for checking the roller when the speed of rotation exceeds acertain and means carried on the roller for varying at will suchpredetermined speed limit.

2. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with the spring-actuatedroller, of means for automatically latching the roller when the speed ofrotation under its spring action exceeds a certain normal limit; andadjustable means carried on the roller for varying the quickness withwhich such latching means shall become effective.

- 3. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with the spring-actuatedroller, of means under spring tension for automatically checkourinvention, what and desire to secure by Letmg the roller when the speedof rotation exceeds a certain predetermined limit; and adjustable meansfor varying such spring tension whereby to vary the effectiveness ofsaid checking means relatively to the speed of rotation.

4. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with the curtain-roller, of thestationary central spindle therefor; a winding-spring connecting saidspindle and said roller; aratchetwheel carried upon the protruding endof said spindle; and a checking-pawl cooperating with said ratchet andcarried upon one end of said roller, said pawl being pivoted centrallyand comprising two arms partially encircling said ratchet, one of saidarms formed with a checking-nose to engage said ratchet and hold theroller from rotation and the other arm beingpositioned to be struck bythe teeth of said ratchet to force said nose into checking position.

, 5. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with the curtain-roller, ofthe stationary central spindle therefor; a windin -spring connectingsaid spindle and said roller; a ratchetwheel carried upon the protrudingend of said spindle; a checking-pawl cooperating with said ratchet andcarried upon one end of said roller, said pawl being pivoted centrallyand comprising two arms partially encircling said ratchet, one of saidarms formed with a checking-nose to engage said ratchet and hold theroller from rotation and the other arm being positioned to be struck bythe teeth of said ratchet to force said nose into checking position; aspring for normally forcing said pawl out of checking position; andadjustable means for varying the tension of said spring whereby to varythe quickness of such checking effect.

6. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with the spring-actuatedroller, of a normally active latching-pawl for latching the curtain inany desired set' position when a certain speed of rotation of the rolleris maintained;

predetermined limit and a normally inactive checking means cooperatingwith provisions to give said checking means a positive impact toimmediately check the roller when an abnormal speed of rotation isdeveloped and the said latching pawl has thereby become ineffective.

7. In a curtain-fixture; the combination with the spring-actuatedroller, of a normally active latching-pawl for latching the curtain inany desired set position when a certain speed of rotation of the rolleris maintained; a normally inactive checking means which becomes activeto immediately check the roller when an abnormal speed ofrotationisdeveloped and the said latching-pawl has thereby become ineffective; andmeans carried on the roller for varying at will the effect iveness ofsaid checking-pawl relatively to the speed of rotation of the roller.

8. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with a curtain-roller, of alatching-pawl and a checking-pawl carried upon one end thereof; astationary central spindle having a spring connection for actuating theroller and also having a protruding extension common to said two pawlsand formed with projections to be engaged thereby, said latching-pawlbeing normally active to engage said common extension to latch theroller in any desired position and said checking-pawl being normallyinactive but having provisions to cause the same toengage the commonextension and check the rotation of, the roller when an abnormal speedof rotation is developed.

9. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with a curtain-roller, of astationary central spindle therein having a spring connection to saidroller for winding the latter; a ratchetwheel fast upon the protrudingextension of said spindle at one end of said roller; a latching-diskalso fast to said spindle and adjacent to said ratchet-wheel, said diskbeing formed with latching-notches; a checking-pawl pivoted upon saidend of said roller and in lateral alinement with said. ratchet-wheel andhaving provisions for engaging said wheel to check the roller uponabnormal speed of rotation; and a latchingpawl pivoted coaxially Withand adjacent to said checking-pawl and in lateral alinement with saidlatch1ngdisk said latching-pawl being positioned to engage saidlatching-notches to latch the roller in adjusted position upon normalspeed of rotation of the roller.

10. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with a curtain-roller of astationary central spindle therein having a spring connection to saidroller for winding the latter; a ratchetwheel fast upon the protrudingextension of said spindle at one end of said roller; a latching-diskalso fast to said spindle and adja cent to said ratchet -wheel, saiddisk being formed with latchingnotches; a checkingpawl centrally pivotedupon said end of said roller and in lateral alinement with said ratchet-wheel; said pawl comprising partially encircling arms partiallyencircling said ratchet-wheel and one arm positioned to be struck bysaid wheel to force the other arm into checking engagement with thewheel upon abnormal speed of rotation; and a latching-pawl pivotedcoaxially with and adjacent to said checking-p awl and in lateralalinement with said latching-disk, said latching-pawl being positionedto engage said latchingnotches to latch the roller in adjusted positionupon normal speed of rotation of the roller.

11. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with a curtain-roller, of astationary central spindle therein having a spring connection to saidroller for winding the latter; a ratchetwheel fast upon the protrudingextension of said spindle at one end of said roller; a latching-diskalso fast to said spindle and adjacent to said ratchetwheel, saiddiskbeing formed with latching-notches, a checking-pawl centrally pivotedupon said end of said roller and in lateral alinement with saidratchet-wheel, said pawl comprising partially encircling arms partiallyencircling said ratchet-wheel and one arm positioned to be struck bysaid wheel to force the other arm into checking engagement with thewheel upon abnormal speed of rotation; a latching-pawl pivoted coaXiallywith and adjacent to said checkingpawl and in lateral alinement withsaid latching-disk, said latching-pawl being positioned to engage saidlatching-notches to latch the roller in adjusted position upon normalspeed of rotation of the roller; a spring attached to said roller endand bearing upon one arm of said checking-p awl to hold the pawlnormally out of checking position; and an adjustable device carried uponsaid roller end and bearing upon said spring whereby the tension of saidspring may be varied to regulate the checking effectiveness of saidchecking-pawl.

12. In a curtain-fixture, the combinationwith vthe spring actuatedroller, of speedchecking means for the roller, said means cooperatingwith provisions for giving the checking means a positive impact toimmediately check the roller when an abnormal speed of rotation isdeveloped.

18. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with the spring-actuatedroller, of a checkingpawl having a checking-nose to arrest the r0- 7tation of the roller and also having an eXten sion cooperating withprovisions for giving a positive impact to said checking-pawl toimmediately check the roller when an abnormal speed of rotation isdeveloped.

14. In a curtain-fixture, the combination with the curtain-roller, ofthe stationary cen tral spindle therefor; a winding-spring connectingsaid spindle and roller; a checkingpawl carried by said roller andhaving a checking-nose to engage said spindle and check the rotation ofthe roller; with provisions mounted on said spindle for giving apositive impact to said checking-pawl to cause the latter to immediatelyengage said spindle to check the rotation of the roller.

In testimony whereof we ailix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

IRWIN W. SMITH. JONATHAN B. HAYWARD.

Witnesses:

WM. 0. HENDERSON, O. B. FosTEn.

